`Cautious` Woman Strangled In Home

FORT LAUDERDALE -- Like many women who live alone, Elsa Johnson was security-conscious.

Johnson, who was widowed last year, never let anyone she didn`t know inside her home.

And the large house that she and her husband bought 22 years ago in the 2700 block of Burning Tree Lane was outfitted with a burglar-alarm system. Connected by phone line to an alarm company, the system was turned on and off at an outside key box next to Johnson`s front door.

Johnson, 66, also carried a ``panic button,`` a remote-controlled, battery- powered box that would allow her to trigger the alarm herself in case all else failed.

On Thursday, her daughter found Johnson lying dead next to her bed.

The alarm system was off. The panic-button box was on a nightstand on the other side of the bed, police said.

Detectives said Johnson had been asphyxiated.

Her bedroom looked as if it had been ransacked, but it was unclear whether anything had been stolen.

Sgt. David Patterson, head of the homicide unit, said no signs of forcible entry were found at the house, which is less than 50 yards west of Bayview Drive.

Neighbors said Johnson was a kind and generous woman, but a cautious one.

``She had a little peephole in her door, and she would always check to see who was there before opening the door,`` said Julie Tebaldi, 15. ``She used to give us pennies for Halloween.``

Johnson`s burglar alarm was off when her daughter, Jaime, 33, arrived at the house about 1:45 p.m. with her boyfriend to take her mother to the doctor.

Patterson said the woman, who was dressed in a nightgown, had been dead for at least a day before her body was found.

``The daughter also called on Wednesday night, but her mother didn`t answer the phone,`` Cefkin said. ``She figured her mother had gone out to play bingo with some friends, because they had talked about that the night before.``

Possible suspects in Johnson`s murder include people who provided services for the woman, who suffered from heart problems and usually walked with a cane, Cefkin said.

As detectives searched the house for clues Thursday, lavender-colored blossoms fell from an ornamental tree onto the immaculately trimmed lawn in Johnson`s front yard.

Large, attractive and expensive homes and a low crime rate are features of the area.

R.W. Stuart, 73, and his wife, Gretta, have lived across the street from Johnson for the last five years. He was shocked to learn that Johnson had been killed, but was resigned to the fact that violent crime had come to the neighborhood.

``This kind of thing can happen anywhere,`` he said. ``If they want to get in badly enough, there`s no way you can stop them.``